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[HANASHIR:13541] Re: Learning Instruments

I have been watching this conversation from the perspective of a former piano 
teacher and a present Grandmother of a musically gifted 6 year old.
Your question prompted me to respond, as I was a child who had no piano (there 
were no keyboards way back then) and begged to have one.... and I do mean 
begged; from about age 5 until my Grandmother bought us one when I was 9.  I 
was concertizing by 12... the rest is history.
Children need to be listened to.  They know what they're all about.
Karen

---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: Freedabet (at) aol(dot)com
Reply-To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
Date:  Tue, 11 Feb 2003 14:41:10 EST

>But, how likely would it have been for her to ask for piano lessons if there 
>had been no keyboard in the household?
>
>Michael
>
>-------- REPLY, Original message follows --------
>
>> Date: Monday, 10-Feb-03 05:09 PM
>> 
>> From: Barton1320 (at) aol(dot)com       \ America Online: (BARTON1320)
>> To:   Hanashir Mail Server     \ Internet:    (hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org)
>> 
>> Subject:  [HANASHIR:13507] Re: Learning Instruments
>> 
>> Sender: owner-hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
>> Reply-to:       hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
>> To:     hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
>> I think the answer is somewhere in between many of the replies posted here. 
> 
>> My daughter, now 6, came to me and asked to take piano when she was 4.  No 
>> prompting, no urging.  Strictly on her own.  I searched around and finally 
>> located a teacher that first would teach a 4 year old and second had the 
>> temperament I felt conducive to teaching this age.  Katie had a ball.  I 
>> didn't force her to practice.  We would play occasionally each week and she 
>> retained her lessons from week to week.  She took lessons for about a year 
>> and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The key, though, was her teacher.  A patient, 
>> happy, and dedicated individual.  She had taught piano to young children 
>for 
>> years and led the children's choir in her church.  She knew just how much 
>> latitude to give Katie during lessons before redirecting her attention back 
>> to the keyboard.  She knew when to stop playing music on the piano and 
>color 
>> the the piano in the music book.  She even took the time to learn about 
>> Chanukah and pick out some simple music for Katie to learn.  She was 
>> incredible.  We stopped the lessons after almost a year for personal 
>reasons. 
>>  Just recently, Katie asked to start lessons again and we are once again in 
>a 
>> position to do so, and I will take her back to the same teacher.  What I'm 
>> trying to say, I guess, is that parents should have a clear understanding 
>of 
>> what they expect a young child to achieve.  For me, the expectation was the 
>> same as her gymnastics class or her ballet class.  That she listens, tries 
>> her best, but most of all enjoys her learning.  And the key to enjoyment, 
>for 
>> us, was finding the right teacher.
>> 
>> Linda Barton
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> <HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT  SIZE=2>I think the answer is 
>somewhere
>> in between many of the replies posted here.  My daughter, now 6, came to
>> me and asked to take piano when she was 4.  No prompting, no urging.
>>  Strictly on her own.  I searched around and finally located a
>> teacher that first would teach a 4 year old and second had the temperament I
>> felt conducive to teaching this age.  Katie had a ball.  I didn't
>> force her to practice.  We would play occasionally each week and she
>> retained her lessons from week to week.  She took lessons for about a year
>> and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The key, though, was her teacher.  A
>> patient, happy, and dedicated individual.  She had taught piano to young
>> children for years and led the children's choir in her church.  She knew
>> just how much latitude to give Katie during lessons before redirecting her
>> attention back to the keyboard.  She knew when to stop playing music on
>> the piano and color the the piano in the music book.  She even took the
>> time to learn about Chanukah and pick out some simple music for Katie to 
>learn.
>>  She was incredible.  We stopped the lessons after almost a year for
>> personal reasons.  Just recently, Katie asked to start lessons again and
>> we are once again in a position to do so, and I will take her back to the 
>same
>> teacher.  What I'm trying to say, I guess, is that parents should have a
>> clear understanding of what they expect a young child to achieve.  For me,
>> the expectation was the same as her gymnastics class or her ballet class.
>>  That she listens, tries her best, but most of all enjoys her learning.
>>  And the key to enjoyment, for us, was finding the right teacher.
>> <BR>
>> <BR>Linda Barton
>> <BR></FONT></HTML>
>> 
>> 
>
>-------- REPLY, End of original message --------
>
>
>

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